System for holding tools in a position facilitating storage

ABSTRACT

A tool cart has two tool holding systems mounted above one another such that each tool is held in two distinct places. Each tool system has a throat with a bottom for holding the shaft of a tool by an elastic device and a structure for leading the shaft into the throat while passing on the side of the elastic device where the throat is situated. The interior contour of the throat and structure for leading the shaft into the throat are covered on by an element forming an adherence zone that brakes the tool shaft vertical movement.

The present invention relates to a tool cart permitting an easierstorage of tools, particularly of gardening tools.

Especially in gardening, tools are most often used which have a longshaft. This applies, for example, to the spade, to the cultivator, tothe ridging hoe, to the dutch hoe, to the combined hoe and fork, to thelawn rake, etc. These tools are provided for working the earth withouthaving to bend down, and therefore reduce the fatigue experienced duringsuch work.

Between each use, the tools are stored in a place selected for thispurpose. The presence of the long shaft often presents a problem forchoosing the place or the direction of the tool storage. In fact, thetools should not hinder the passing-through and should avoid being thecause of accidents either as a result of falling, or exhibitingsharp-pointed ends, etc. In addition, the gardener hopes to both easilystore and remove the tools from the selected site.

Whether the gardeners are professionals or individuals, the acceptedstorage solution consists of placing the tools against a wall. Althoughthis position partly fulfills the gardener's wishes, it does not meetpeople's safety requirements. This solution is, in fact, dangerousbecause tools placed in this manner present the risk of falling. Inaddition, this position is not very practical for reaching the tools,since these often are intermingled. In addition, this solution forcesthe gardener to each time remove a single tool with the disadvantage ofbeing hindered by tools he will not be using during his work.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a tool cart whichmakes it possible to solve the above-mentioned problems.

For this purpose, the invention suggests a tool cart which comprises twosystems for holding tools mounted above one another such that each toolis held in two distinct places, each tool holding system comprises, onthe one hand, at least one throat having a bottom for holding the shaftof a tool by an elastic device and, on the other hand, at least onedevice for leading the above-mentioned shaft into at least one throatwhile passing on the side of the above-mentioned elastic device wherethe above-mentioned throat is situated. The interior contour of theabove-mentioned or each throat and the above-mentioned or each devicefor leading the above-mentioned shaft into the above-mentioned throat iscovered by an element forming an adherence zone for braking the verticalmovement of the tool shaft.

According to another characteristic of the invention, theabove-mentioned device for leading the above-mentioned shaft into theabove-mentioned throat is an inlet duct.

According to another characteristic of the invention, theabove-mentioned adherence zone is a piece of plastic material.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the holding systemaccording to the invention comprises several units formed by theabove-mentioned throat and the above-mentioned inlet duct which areregularly distributed on its periphery.

According to another characteristic of the invention, theabove-mentioned elastic device is a band of an elastic material.

In one embodiment, the above-mentioned elastic device is a spring.

According to another characteristic of the invention, theabove-mentioned cart comprises a structure adapted to determine theweight of the cart on the axis of rotation of the wheels in such amanner that the handling of the above-mentioned cart is facilitated.

The characteristics of the above-mentioned invention as well as otherswill be explained in detail by the description of the followingembodiments, the above-mentioned description being made in connectionwith the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a global perspective view of a tool cart according to theinvention comprising two holding systems;

FIG. 2 is a global perspective view of a tool cart comprising twoholding systems provided with tools; and

FIG. 3 is a top view of a tool cart according to the inventioncomprising two holding systems provided with tools.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are illustrations of a tool cart 1 which comprises twosimilar tool-holding systems 50 placed above one another. Cart 1comprises a base 10 mounted on a tube 20 provided at its lowest end witha foot 200 which makes it possible for the base 10 to be held in ahorizontal position. The base 10 permits the eventual replacing of thefunctional part of the tool, such as a cultivator head, in a mannerillustrated in FIG. 2. The tube 20, in addition, rests on an axle 30,whose ends are provided with wheels 300. Preferably, these wheels areinflatable. The part of the tube 20 resting on the axle 30 continuesvertically to a bent part on which a plate 40 is fixed. The bent part ofthe tube 20 is provided for bringing back the weight of the cart and ofthe tools placed upon it onto the axle 30 of the wheels 300 when thecart is inclined by the user, which makes the cart 1 light andmanageable. The plate 40 makes it possible to hold two holding systems50 of tools placed on one another in a horizontal line on a first side,and small holes 60 also participating in the holding of the tools on asecond side. The tube 20 extends slightly above the plate 40 and ends ina handle 70. With the exception of the wheels, the elements forming thecart are advantageously implemented in rust-resisting steel but may alsobe made of other adapted materials, or comprise the appearance of apainted surface, a galvanized surface, etc.

The holding system 50 advantageously is a circular or semicircular plateintended for holding the shaft of the tools 2 preferably in a verticalposition. This holding function is accomplished by slots 51 described inthe following in connection with FIG. 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a holding system 50 comprises several slots 51regularly distributed along its periphery. In the illustratedembodiment, the holding system 50 comprises five slots 51. Each slot 51has the shape of an inlet duct 512, preferably of a bent shape,terminated by a throat 511. The opening 510 of the inlet duct 512 of theslots 51 allows the passage of the shaft of the tool 2 withoutdifficulty. The shape of the slot 51 is such that the shaft of the tool2, which is led by means of the inlet duct 512 to the throat 511 of theslot 51, comes to be held horizontally in this throat 511 by means of afixed piece 513. Nevertheless, since the slot 51 facilitates the passageof the tool shaft 2, it does not completely block the tool shaft 2 inthis holding position. For this reason, each slot 51 is, in addition,provided with an elastic device 52, such as a strip of an elasticmaterial, for example, of the SANDOW type (Registered Trademark) or aspring. On the one hand, elastic device 52 is fixed at a first point Anear the throat 511 of the slot 51 and, on the other hand, at a secondpoint B near the opening 510 of the inlet duct 512. The location of thefixed points A, B of the elastic device 52 and of the fixed piece 513 iscalculated for exercising a force on the shaft of the tool 2 such thatit has the tendency to stay in its holding position in the throat 511 ofthe slot 51. For this purpose, the ratio of the distance between fixedpoints A, B and the distance between a fixed point A or B and the fixedpiece is approximately equal to two. The above-described holding system50 is preferably implemented in rust-resistant steel, but may also beimplemented in other adapted materials or comprise an appearance of apainted surface, a galvanized surface, etc.

For improving its holding function, the holding system 50 advantageouslycomprises an adherence zone 514 in the interior of each slot 51. Thisadherence zone 514 is made of a plastic material, preferably by means ofa rough U-section-type strip placed on the interior contour of the slotsuch that it covers it in the manner of a coating. This adherence zone514 is provided particularly for holding the shaft of the tool 2 suchthat its vertical movements are braked. In addition, the adherence zone514 makes it possible to avoid an excessive friction of the holdingsystem 50 on the shaft of the tool 2, which may wear it out in anabnormal fashion. Thus, by means of the fixed piece 513, the elasticdevice 52 and the adherence zone 514, the shaft of the tool 2 is held inall its degrees of freedom. By means of the holding system 50 accordingto the invention, the tool 2 can therefore be held in a unique zone ofits shaft determined independently of the length of this shaft. The userof the tool 2 can therefore choose not to place the tool shaft 2 on thebase 10 of the cart. In addition, it will be found that generally, whilethe user can choose to dispose the useful portion of the tool 2 in thedirection opposed to the base 10, for example, because the shaft of thetool 2 is too short, he will preferably, as a result of the adherencezones 514 of the invention, choose to place this tool 2 in a more secureposition, with the useful portion of the tool 2 turned toward the base10.

Thus, a user of a tool 2 who wants to arrange the tool 2 on the toolcart, which comprises two similar holding systems 50 placed above oneanother, places the shaft of the tool 2 in front of the opening 510 of aslot 51 present on each of the holding systems 50; then, pushes theshaft along the inlet duct 512 before introducing it in the throat 511where it then finds itself clamped by the elastic device 52 against theadherence zone 514 of the fixed piece 513. In this manner, the tool isheld firmly in two places while one simple horizontal pushing movementis carried out.

Inversely, the withdrawal of the tool 2 from the holding systems 50involves pushing-back the elastic device 52 by means of the tool 2 inorder to disengage the tool 2 from its grasp and allow the shaft to passthe fixed piece in order to be able to then withdraw it, passing throughthe inlet duct 512. The presence of the two holding systems 50facilitates the insertion and the withdrawal of the tools and increasesthe holding.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. Tool cart comprising two systems for holding tools,the systems being mounted above one another such that each tool is heldin two distinct places, each tool holding system comprising at least onethroat having a bottom portion for holding the shaft of a tool, anelastic device and at least one device for leading the shaft into atleast one throat while passing on the side of the elastic device wherethe throat is situated, the throat and each device for leading the shaftinto the throat having a covering on an interior contour thereof by anelement forming an adherence zone for braking the vertical movement ofthe tool shaft.
 9. Tool cart according to claim 8, wherein the devicefor leading the shaft into the above-mentioned throat includes an inletduct.
 10. Tool cart according to claim 9, wherein the adherence zoneincludes a strip of plastic material.
 11. Tool cart according to claim10, wherein the holding system comprises several units, each includingone of the throats and one of the inlet ducts which are regularlydistributed on the periphery of the holding system.
 12. Tool cartaccording to claim 11, wherein the elastic device includes an elasticband.
 13. Tool cart according to claim 12, further including a structureadapted to determine the weight of the cart on the axis of rotation ofthe wheels in such a manner that the handling of the above-mentionedcart is facilitated.
 14. Tool cart according to claim 11, wherein theelastic device includes a spring.
 15. Tool cart according to claim 14,further including a structure adapted to determine the weight of thecart on the axis of rotation of the wheels in such a manner that thehandling of the above-mentioned cart is facilitated.
 16. Tool cartaccording to claim 8, further including a structure adapted to determinethe weight of the cart on the axis of rotation of the wheels in such amanner that the handling of the above-mentioned cart is facilitated. 17.Tool cart according to claim 8, wherein the adherence zone includes astrip of plastic material.
 18. Tool cart according to claim 9, whereinthe holding system comprises several units, each including one of thethroats and one of the inlet ducts which are regularly distributed onthe periphery of the holding system.
 19. Tool cart according to claim 8,wherein the elastic device includes an elastic band.
 20. Tool cartaccording to claim 8, wherein the elastic device includes a spring. 21.Tool cart comprising two systems for holding tools, the systems beingmounted above one another such that each tool is held in two distinctplaces, each tool holding system comprising at least one throat having abottom portion for holding the shaft of a tool, an elastic device and atleast one device for leading the shaft into at least one throat whilepassing on the side of the elastic device where the throat is situated,the throat and each device for leading the shaft into the throatincluding an interior contour forming an adherence zone for braking thevertical movement of the tool shaft.